Remorse return with the reason "Doesn't match description or photos"

[auditech_online]

Can any sellers with the same experience give us some advises on how to handle this situation?

We have a remorse return, however the buyer claimed the return with the reason "Doesn't match description or photos", under which eBay's options for us are

1. Accept the return and send buyer a return shipping label
2. Issue a full refund and buyer keeps the item
3. Issue a partial refund and the buyer keeps the item
4. Contact buyer

The products we selling are sealed and will incur some costs on change of mind returns if the item is opened and used. Our return ploicy also requires buyer to pay the return postage. So apparently none of the above options we can proceed except Contact buyer. Buyer admitted it's a change of mind, and unable to provide any evidence to prove the item doesn't match description or photos.

eBay stepped in and issued a full refund to the buyer and we haven't received the item back. Even if we received the item back, how can we issue a partial refund after that?

[springyzone]

Good grief-that's a masochist for sure. I would have turned to bricks & mortar stores long ago if I had suffered disappointments like that!

Which leads me to one piece of advice for the poor seller here. If she does go ahead and post with tracking, for heavens sakes mark it on ebay as sent that same day because she'll whinge about that too if you give her the slightest chance to.

Personally, I'm not sure I would want to sell to her. I'd consider cancelling and refunding her money. 

[klmurray64]

Thank you springyzone, clubesquire, brerrabbit585 and countessalmirena for your valuable advice.

I don't know if I have did the right or wrong thing in this situation, but I have posted the dolls in good faith to this buyer and hopefully she will also be honest.

But I seriously have my doubts now, after just reading the "spoiler" in countessalmirena reply ... these 33 comments and red dots just make my stomach churn.

Thanks again everybody, I'll probably be back on next week, when she opens a dispute against me, wanting more of your expert advice and yes I did add the tracking number to my ebay listing.

[auditech_online]

Thanks for all the valuable responses. Here is an update of the case.

The buyer did send the item back, can't say its a fraudulent return, but the item is opened/used with missing accessories.

Our online appeal was rejected.

Called the apeal team, confirmed its a change of mind return, but was told that the buyer is protected by the money back garantee unless we can confirm the item is damaged or not in its original status.

Sent all the evidence with photos to eBay.

Ebay reviewed our case and decided to refund the full amount to us and revert the defect transaction against our account.

Not sure what eBay is going to do with the buyer.

[davewil1964]

eBay will let the buyer keep the refund and take no further action.

[clubesquire]

....and if that’s the case, all that does is encourage the buyer to do the same, again and again, or lay the foundation for even more adventurous eBaying.

So wrong 😞 Just creating another bigger and better headache for some honest Seller down the track.

eBay - influencers and enablers of bad buyer behaviour it would seem.

Melina

[clarry100]

I agree with this too.

The only good part of this is that you ended up not out of pocket because of bad buyer behaviour.

But the buyer will hear no more about it at all from ebay and will feel that they've won and the seller has lost and they will try it again on another seller in the future as "that was too easy".

Geez I'm glad we are planning to bail out of here this financial year.

It's just not worth it or viable any more to stay here.

Leave the platform to the cheap junky Chinese sellers.

[countessalmirena]

@auditech_online,

I'm glad you were given the full refund and had any defect reversed. That's a positive result for you, even though it is frustrating to see a buyer use "doesn't match description or photos" for a "change of mind" return. That is an abuse of the system - and all the more frustrating for you when the returned item has clearly been opened, used and has accessories missing.

You did exactly the right thing in phoning eBay. (I've posted several times on these boards about the online appeal process being bot-driven, and in many cases this leads to valid appeals being automatically rejected, so that the only possible recourse for a better outcome is to call.)

Well, with regard to eBay, we have it in eBay's own words (excuse me while I clear the disbelief from my throat) that they have "evolved the process of tracking buyers with policy violations" and their "risk and security teams have evolved the process of tracking risky buyers". Can we assume that this buyer - who has demonstrably abused the eBay MBG process (which is a policy violation) - is on eBay's radar? It's possible. But we'll never be certain... unless one day, if you happen to be following the buyer, a sudden note appears under their username: No longer a registered user.

[springyzone]

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@clubesquire wrote:

....and if that’s the case, all that does is encourage the buyer to do the same, again and again, or lay the foundation for even more adventurous eBaying.

So wrong 😞 Just creating another bigger and better headache for some honest Seller down the track.

eBay - influencers and enablers of bad buyer behaviour it would seem.

Melina

---

Yes.

I am glad the seller was reimbursed by ebay & I understand that ebay had already given the buyer a refund so that money is gone, they can't possibly get it back.

However, I am surprised when a seller uploads photos to ebay to prove that an item was not returned in the condition it was sent, that ebay does nothing.

You'd think they could have some mildly worded form message they could send out  to the buyer to the effect the seller had provided evidence that suggested the item that was returned had been used/opened/damaged (whatever the case was) & on this occasion ebay had refunded the money but in future the buyer would need to ensure any return was in exactly the condition in which it was originally sent.

It would be bluff to a certain extent as ebay can't know till after the event, but what it would do is make buyers aware ebay was watching, taking note. It might make them think twice before doing the same again-or at least for a while.

[springyzone]

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@countessalmirena

Well, with regard to eBay, we have it in eBay's own words (excuse me while I clear the disbelief from my throat) that they have "evolved the process of tracking buyers with policy violations" and their "risk and security teams have evolved the process of tracking risky buyers". Can we assume that this buyer - who has demonstrably abused the eBay MBG process (which is a policy violation) - is on eBay's radar? It's possible. But we'll never be certain... unless one day, if you happen to be following the buyer, a sudden note appears under their username: No longer a registered user.

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Maybe I am just getting old, but the use of the word 'evolved' in the ebay statement grates on me.

They could use 'improved' or 'refined' but to me, that's not how you use 'evolved' in a sentence.

All I can say is their process of evolution isn't complete yet, that's for sure.

[davewil1964]

We are getting old.

However, the term is not inapt. Evolution is essentially improvement/change through trial and error. eBay have certainly got the last bit down pat.